May | June 2007

Technology

  • GoTV Networks is the first studio to create television shows exclusively for mobile phones. GoTV focuses on lightweight shows targeted at a younger audience, with categories such as music, sports, news, Latin, comedy and women's interests. Sprint-Nextel started a made-for-mobile internal studio last year, but GoTV Networks is the first to create these shows exclusively.
  • Sony is bolstering efforts to develop the next generation of flat-panel OLEDs (organic electroluminescent displays) - technology that will lead to the development of thinner, lighter and softer electronics. Sony has introduced a flexible, full-color OLED that weighs 1.5 grams, is 0.3 mm thin and features a display resolution of 120x160 pixels. Sony also has plans to release a new line of miniature TVs later this year.

Green Living

  • Hearst Magazines recently launched Thedailygreen.com, "a one-stop Web destination where the fast-growing community of green consumers can find each other and everything they need to know to embrace a more energy-conscious, natural foods-oriented and environment-friendly lifestyle." Aimed at green consumers, Hearst publications contribute editorial coverage, while additional news, tips, food and weather content is user-generated.

Travel

  • A new Website, Yapta.com (Your Amazing Personal Travel Assistant) keeps you updated on trips you are interested in - by monitoring flights for the most affordable ticket prices or notifying you when you become applicable for a refund on your ticket based on a recent price drop. The company hopes to be the start of Web 3.0 - where the Internet does all of the work for you. Yapta currently supports the following airlines: United, American, Delta, Southwest, JetBlue, US Airways/America West, Continental, Frontier, Northwest and Alaska.

Advertising & Marketing

  • The federal government is ramping up efforts to combat the issue of childhood obesity. Because 50% of the commercials that tweens see are for food, legislators are considering putting the impetus of nutritional education on marketers themselves. Similar to the "drink responsibly" messages on alcohol commercials, commercials for sugary or fatty foods may soon be required to include "eat responsibly and exercise regularly" messages.
  • Coinvertising? To promote this summer's Fantastic Four sequel, Fox has 40,000 US quarters plastered with an image of the "Silver Surfer." The coins, already in circulation, include the movie's Web address and a chance to win a trip to the London premiere. The catch? It's actually illegal to turn a US coin into an ad medium. In a statement, the US Mint said, "The promotion is in no way approved, authorized, endorsed, or sponsored by the United States Mint, nor is it in any way associated or affiliated with the United States Mint."

Entertainment & Media

  • The literary world is transitioning from the pages into theme parks. Dickens World, a theme park devoted to the work and life of Charles Dickens opened on Friday, May 25th. The four-acre attraction is located in Chatham, Kent. The Harry Potter series is also coming to life, as Universal Studios is close to finalizing a deal to build "Harry Potter World" at its amusement park in Orlando, Florida. The park, once built, will include rollercoasters and rides based on the plots of the novels by JK Rowling.
  • In an attempt to get more young people to read the news, newspapers in Tokyo are now available in manga (comic book) form. The news, delivered daily to cell phones, is filtered to include lighter fare - big headlines, entertainment and sports news.

Media Tidbits

  • Less than a year after its print edition closed, TeenPeople.com has ceased its existence as an independent online publication. TeenPeople.com had operated as a standalone site since mid-2006, when Time Inc. folded the print edition, but now, visitors are directed to People.com. People.com now carries more teen-focused stories and may eventually pick up features unique to the teen site like polls and quizzes.
  • Men's Health will hit college campuses across the country with its new brand extension - Men's Health on Campus. The first issue will appear as a supplement in college newspapers on 30 campuses (University of Texas, University of Florida, Penn Sate, New York University, UCLA, etc.) this October, with a total distribution of about 500,000. Men's Health plans a website for the spin-off, featuring sponsored sweepstakes and the ability to vote in a cover-model search for next spring's second issue. The eventual goal is for the title to become a quarterly.
  • NBC's new fall series, "Lipstick Jungle," revolves around fictional fashion glossy Bonfire. Once "Lipstick Jungle" begins airing, NBC and iVillage will launch Bonfire as a "fully editorialized online publication, offering users fashion profiles, relationship advice, topical articles, quizzes and forums." To make the real version of the fake magazine, NBC and iVillage will draw on their existing editorial staffs. NBC will craft features that chronicle the fictional lives of the show's characters, while the iVillage side will produce the factual editorial content.
  • New York magazine will spin off some of its online fashion coverage into a new, semiannual magazine. New York Look will debut in November soon after the New York and European shows, and will be a combination of controlled circulation and selective newsstand sales. Produced by New York magazine's existing fashion staff, with the aid of freelancers, Look will have little writing and feature only runway shots.